Tentlife: How to Sleep Well at a Festival

Admittedly, when you're at a festival, sleep won't be top of your to-do list. But to ensure you're feeling your best, it's essential to get a good night's kip when you do eventually lay your head down.

Here are 9 little sleep tips to help you feel rested (and ready to party) at your festival this summer.

Eye mask the morning away

It’s summer. The sun wakes up at, like, 4am, which is probably about the time you’re going to bed. Have fun with that without an eye mask.

Blow it up

No no. Not your tent! Calm down. A blow up mattress is for sure a camping essential. They can take up as much space as a roll mat when packing, and, as well as giving your tired festival muscles some relief, a blow up mattress helps keep the cold away by creating an extra barrier between you and the chilly ground.

Whilst we’re at it – don’t forget a pillow. Blow up ones exist, too!

Pitch smart

“Oh let’s just pitch the tent here! It’s so close to the bathrooms, it’s also close to the walkway; we’re so smart!” – don’t even think about it. Pitch your tent a *reasonable* distance from toilets and walkways to ensure you’re as mud-free as possible, and so you’ll escape most of the noisier spots.

Aromasleeptherapy

Okay, I just made that word up. But it’s true that certain scents are proven to help us relax and fall asleep. Take a balm or perfume (a solid perfume would be a great shout!) to massage into your temples before sleep.

Pssst… a rose or lavender based scent would be my suggestion.

Pack warm

Weather forecast is 40°? Doesn’t matter! You should always pack a little bit of warmth in prep for surprise chilly nights. Get a decent sleeping bag, a jumper, and maybe even a woolly hat, and you won’t be caught shivering.

Share the love

Spooning is sometimes the best way to feel cozy and comfortable enough to sleep well. Sharing body heat? Check. Knowing there’s now two of you to fight off a potential bear attack? Check.

Whale noise the night away

Of course, we won’t want to be wasting our valuable phone battery on music when you’re at a music festival. But if you have an old iPod or MP3 player you may want to consider bringing it so you can tune out the festival noise when you’re trying to get that all important sleep. Thunderstorm noises. Bon Iver. Whale calls. Go wild.
Failing this, earplugs!

Nap, nap, aaaaand nap

There’s bound to be a lull, a time where you just don’t care about who is performing; you just feel a bit exhausted. Don’t waste that time. NAP. Don’t let FOMO ruin your festival experience because you’re way too tired.

Stay hydrated

But not tooooo hydrated! You don’t want to be getting up to pee every 3 seconds. But it’s super important to eat *fairly* well and drink plenty of water alongside your partying and potential junk food-ing. Also, try not to eat at least an hour before sleeping – trust me, it helps!

Just… throw out the tent

Weeeell… you could cheat a little and give into the glamping or campervan lifestyle and sleep in your own portable fabric bed. Sleep at a festival is about quality, not quantity, after all. But be warned, once you ditch the tent for a yurt, you may find it hard to go back.